It was lovely and cool at 7 a.m. Thursday. Going outside Friday morning was like stepping into a sauna.

Having lived here for more than 16 years, I’m not surprised, nor do I want to live anywhere else. But I do start dreaming of vacationing somewhere I can wake up and feel cold, or at least chilled, even in June.

I like being cold. And in this part of the world, it’s easy to pretend.

You can become dependent on air conditioning — moving from one small air conditioned spot to the next, from morning until night. I’m good at staying inside as much as possible when it’s really hot.

But there are those who can’t really avoid the heat, and I’m aware of their plight every year about this time when I start working hard to stay inside.

Although community outreach efforts focus on getting homeless folks off the street when it’s cold, I worry about them more when it’s hot.

How miserable it would be to not be able to escape temperatures that feel like 100 degrees-plus. To have to keep moving when it’s so hot that even staying still is almost unbearable.

Since the paper moved to its downtown Fort Walton Beach location almost two years ago, we see them coming and going almost every day.

It’s a constant reminder of the gulf between those who have enough and those who don’t, a reminder to be grateful for what we have.

We need those kinds of reminders to keep us on track.

It’s easy to grumble and focus on the negative. And it’s easy to forget about the comforts we take for granted.

Tonight, notice and cherish the breeze off the water, shade under trees, air-conditioned comfort and cool sheets.

It was lovely and cool at 7 a.m. Thursday. Going outside Friday morning was like stepping into a sauna.

Having lived here for more than 16 years, I’m not surprised, nor do I want to live anywhere else. But I do start dreaming of vacationing somewhere I can wake up and feel cold, or at least chilled, even in June.

I like being cold. And in this part of the world, it’s easy to pretend.

You can become dependent on air conditioning — moving from one small air conditioned spot to the next, from morning until night. I’m good at staying inside as much as possible when it’s really hot.

But there are those who can’t really avoid the heat, and I’m aware of their plight every year about this time when I start working hard to stay inside.

Although community outreach efforts focus on getting homeless folks off the street when it’s cold, I worry about them more when it’s hot.

How miserable it would be to not be able to escape temperatures that feel like 100 degrees-plus. To have to keep moving when it’s so hot that even staying still is almost unbearable.

Since the paper moved to its downtown Fort Walton Beach location almost two years ago, we see them coming and going almost every day.

It’s a constant reminder of the gulf between those who have enough and those who don’t, a reminder to be grateful for what we have.

We need those kinds of reminders to keep us on track.

It’s easy to grumble and focus on the negative. And it’s easy to forget about the comforts we take for granted.

Tonight, notice and cherish the breeze off the water, shade under trees, air-conditioned comfort and cool sheets.